AUTHOR'S POV:
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Bertolt watched Reiner sip from his hot cup of coffee.
They were on Wall Maria, a small fire burning before them.
"I already told you Annie is doing fine." Zeke said, sitting across from them. "I'm sure. There's no way she's getting tortured. For starters, don't you think that's unlikely? With powers like ours, one scratch and we can pretty much handle anything." He reached up to scratch his ear. "And remember, it's Annie we're talking about here. I bet she's in hiding somewhere practicing her kicks and whatnot."
"Still," Reiner said, "there's no mistaking her identity was revealed."
"Even if it's Annie..." Bertolt looked down.
"Oh? Does this mean you're not fully committed yet?" Zeke asked them flatly, no sympathy in his demeanor. "Is that right? And what about the agreement we came to? Was that all for nothing? We can go at it again if you want, Reiner. But the next time you lose, you give up your armor to another warrior.
"N-No, that's not what I meant." Reiner replied.
"Then pull yourself together," Zeke said to Reiner. "We only have one goal. To recover the Coordinate and put an end to this cursed history. Let's... end this. I want to end all this, with us." he said almost tiredly.
"Understood," Bertolt replied. "I'll try to keep Annie out of my head for now. There's no need to put anyone else through this hell but us. Let's end this."
"Bertolt..." Reiner trailed off, staring at him.
"War Chief Zeke." A garbled up voice said and the three immediately ran to peek over the edge. "Enemy troops are approaching." the Cart Titan reported. Two barrels and several crates were on her back. "They've reached the foot."
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"My brave warriors." Zeke said and clinked his mug with theirs. "It's time to settle this here and finish our mission once and for all." Standing together, the three took sips of their coffee. "Hot!" Zeke flinched, bringing his hand to his mouth.
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The sun began to rise over the horizon.
Reiner knocked off the pot and the three mugs. "Let's go!"
"Yeah. Let's go." Bertolt said and followed him as he started to move quickly.
"Bertolt, I've told you a bunch of times, but... You and I will be in separate positions. So try thinking on your own for once." Reiner said.
"R-Right." Bertolt replied.
"You don't always have to wait for my signal." Reiner said.
"Yeah, I know." Bertolt replied.
"You're supposed to be the one with the greatest ability of all, yet you leave it to others when it matters. To be honest, I never thought you reliable." Reiner said.
"I know." Bertolt replied.
"Up until now. We're ending this here, right?" Reiner said.
"That's right," Bertolt replied. "We're gonna win and end this."
Reiner smiled at him. "Keep up that attitude till you're with your beloved Annie." He stopped and faced Bertolt.
"I-It's not like that..." Bertolt said.
"I bet even Annie would appreciate the one who rushes in to save her... and mistake him for her prince." Reiner's words were making him blush. "Even if it's you. And Christa... We'll save her no matter what." He brought up his fist, tapping his breast pocket. "That's our promise to Ymir."
"Yeah." Bertolt said and they turned their backs to each other. "No matter what."
"See ya." Reiner said and bumped his best friend's shoulder with his fist. "I'm counting on you, buddy."
Bertolt mirrored the gesture. "Leave it to me."
The two moved to the edges of the Wall,
Reiner jumping off on one side and Bertolt the other.
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'It's been a while since Reiner transformed...' Bertolt was peaking though the barrel. 'No signal yet? Reiner... Are you okay out there?'
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"We did it!" One of the soldiers cheered.
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Reiner was exposed in the Armored Titan's body. Half of his face was missing, steaming.
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On the buildings surrounding the disabled Titan, the soldiers cried and hugged, cheering.
"We blew his head off! The Armored Titan bit the dust!"
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Hange, Mikasa, and Armin watched the scene quietly.
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Jean let out a nervous laugh. "We did it... You were such a pain in the ass for us. Serves you right, scumbag!"
Then Jean noticed Connie and Sasha, crying.
At first, Jean was speechless at their behavior. "What the hell are you crying for?!" Jean snapped, grabbing each by the collar. "C'mon, get up! This ain't over yet! Don't cry! We're the ones who killed him!"
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The attacking Titan was slumped on his knees on the other end of the street from the Armored Titan.
Eren stared, stunned.
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"It's not over!" Hange yelled, throwing out her arm. "Ready your equipment for the next round!" She and some of the others on the roof started to walk down.
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Mikasa placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Armin..."
"It's not like... we had any chance to negotiate..." Armin said quietly as they watched the steam rise from the Armored Titan's body. "It's our side dealing with the overwhelming lack of information. We don't have the power to capture someone who can turn into a Titan. There was... nothing we could do."
Mikasa's gaze shifted down sadly.
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The Armored Titan's face moved slightly, catching Mikasa's attention.
It was deadly silent.
Suddenly, he let out a loud roar. The force of it made their hair and clothes wave and Armin covered his ears.
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The attacking Titan moved to his feet.
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The Armored Titan slumped forward, head hanging low.
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'It can't be...' Erwin thought.
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Levi and Faye looked startled at the sound.
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Past Levi and the town, in the grassy flatland where the Beast Titan crouched, the Cart Titan joined him, coming from the north.
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Inside one of the barrels on the Cart Titan's back was Bertolt.
"There it was! The signal!" Bertolt said and braced himself as the Beast Titan picked up the barrel he was in.
The Beast Titan straightened up and launched the barrel over the Wall.
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Levi, Faye and Erwin watched it sail over their heads.
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"Nail him with Thunder Spears!" Hange ordered. "We'll just have to blow his body to bits!"
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'That scream just now...' Armin thought. 'Was it for Bertolt?' He spotted the barrel flying up in the sky. He gasped. "Wait! We need to get away from Reiner!" When Hange looked at him, he pointed up. "Up there!" The barrel sailed above the abandoned homes. "The Colossal Titan is coming! We'll all get blown away!"
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'Where are you, Reiner?!' Bertolt gritted his teeth at the pressure of being flung and sailing in the air. 'I'm coming!'
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Erwin grunted in frustration. 'They got us...'
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"Shit!" Hange cursed, her and the rest of them flying away from the Armored Titan. "Everyone, get away from the Armored Titan! The Colossal Titan is falling our way!"
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Inside the Titan body, Eren saw the barrel.
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'Shoot!' Armin watched it helplessly. He thought back to when the Colossal Titan fell off of Wall Rose and onto Rogue and the Armored Titan, and the resulting explosion. 'At this distance... none of us can avoid it.'
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'I'm close to the ground.' Through the holes, Bertolt saw the houses spin around below him. 'It's now or never. I'll blow this whole place away.' He brought up his hand but stopped when he noticed the immobile Armored Titan, steaming from the nape.
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The attacking Titan and the soldiers were running as far away as possible.
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Shoving off the lid, Bertolt left the barrel, his 3D gear on him.
"Reiner," he screamed, descending.
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The attacking Titan, Mikasa, and Hange looked back at him.
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Bertolt landed on the shoulder of the Armored Titan. "Reiner?!" He knelt by Reiner, whose half-blown face was still healing. "Reiner?" He pressed a hand against Reiner's chest. "He's alive! But he... He transferred his consciousness throughout his whole nervous system?" "But that was...a last resort," Bertolt thought out loud. "To think he'd actually do it... It's hard to believe they cornered you like that. Reiner... I need you to do something for me. You're going to have to move a little. And if you can't, I'm sorry... Prepare for the worst." He stood up."I'm ending this."
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The attacking Titan and the soldiers watched from a safe distance.
"In any case," Hange started, catching her breath. "our mission objective just came falling into our laps. You could even call this lucky."
"Target approaching from ahead!" Moblit called out. "It's Bertolt!"
Hange stood on the attacking Titan's shoulder. "Our plan is as follows: Levi Squad protects Eren under Armin's command! All others work together to take down the two targets!"
"Roger!" They followed her.
"Please wait!" Armin flew alongside her.
"Armin?" Hange exclaimed.
"This is our final chance to negotiate!" He said and pushed ahead of her as the others watched.
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"Bertolt!" Armin yelled, voice echoing. "Stop right there!"
Bertolt landed on the pyramid-shaped roof of a tower, with Armin hanging across from him, half a block away.
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'Armin...' Eren thought. 'What are you trying to accomplish?'
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"Bertolt, let's talk this over!" Armin said.
Inhaling, Bertolt yelled back, "If I agree to talk, would you all agree to die?!" His words surprised Armin. "We only want two simple things! We want Eren and the demise of humanity in the Walls! That's the harsh truth of reality, Armin! It's all been decided already!"
"Wha-? Wh-Who decided any of that?!" Armin asked.
"I did..." Bertolt said softly.
"Huh? What was that?!" Armin asked and brought a hand to his ear.
"I decided it!" Bertolt repeated, louder this time. "Your lives are coming to an end right here!"
"Armin glared, baring his teeth. "That's very unfortunate! I was hoping... I wouldn't have to hear Annie's screams any longer! The only one who can save her from the savages in the Military Police is you... and no one else! At this rate, she'll end up as feed for the pigs!"
"Fine by me!" Bertolt declared and jumped off the side of the tower.
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Mikasa took off toward them.
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Armin landed on the roof of the smaller building to his left. Bertolt cut him off, standing opposite of him.
"Let 'em feed her to the pigs! If they really have her, that is! What's the rush, Armin? Aren't we going to talk?" Bertolt asked and Armin held up his sword, Bertolt mirroring the action. "Did you think that if you talked about Annie, I'd lose my cool again? That since I'm the meek and timid Bertolt, you could fool me into letting my guard down?"
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The attacking Titan started to move.
"Stand down, Eren." Jean stopped him, standing on the Titan's shoulder. "You should know. You've got a slim chance against him. This isn't your fight yet."
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'Shit...' Eren cursed. 'Armin, why?!'
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Bertolt took a step forward. "I know what you're doing. You're just buying time. Surrounding me with soldiers..." As he spoke, men and women were trying to approach him while others headed toward the Armored Titan. "...and distracting me with this ruse while the others finish off Reiner! I can tell. You're standing there shaking so much, you can't do a damn thing."
"If you knew that much, why did you even come to talk?" Armin asked.
"I wanted to know." Bertolt responded, thinking back to when Mikasa, Faye, Connie, and Armin had landed on the Armored Titan and come to take Eren back. "To know whether, if I faced you guys, I'd start whining and beg for forgiveness again. But... seems like I'm fine now." His blade did not shake as Armin's did. "Yeah. You are precious comrades to me. I also intend to kill you."
"Seeing someone as a precious comrade. Wanting to kill them. It sucks how I can understand the two aren't mutually exclusive." Armin said sadly. "It's sad what the world has come to. Is that... because you think we're spawn of the devil?"
"No. None of you have done anything wrong, and you're not devils either. But you all still have to die. That's just how it is!" Bertolt replied.
Mikasa slid up behind him out of nowhere.
Mikasa grunted, her blade screeching across Bertolt's sword, creating sparks.
Bertolt barely dodged the swipe but couldn't quite do the same for her other sword.
It sliced off one of his ears. He spun and kicked her.
She brought up her arm to guard against his leg but the force of the kick knocked her off the roof.
"Mikasa!" Armin cried out as she was knocked off the roof and Bertolt charged at him.
Armin froze, holding his sword awkwardly, not having time to react.
Mikasa released the blade as she swung the handle of one of her swords.
Bertolt swatted the blade flying at his face and she ran up the roof. He dodged her attack and flew off.
"Armin!" Mikasa called out and threw her arm in front of him. "Don't give chase! There's no knowing when he'll transform. If we don't keep our distance, we'll get caught in another explosion." she said, kneeling on one knee.
"I don't think Bertolt intends to just yet." Armin said. "Reiner's on the verge of death, so if he did, he'd finish Reiner off. We could take Reiner as a hostage and fight him straight on with swords."
"We should, but..." Mikasa said and rubbed the arm that had caught his kick. "It seemed like he had some sort of plan, though. Still, was that really Bertolt just now? To me, he seemed like a different person."
Armin's shoulders slumped. "Me, too."
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"Hurry," a male soldier said, leading a group through the air. "The Armored Titan is weak! Let's finish him off!"
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Up ahead, the Armored Titan was on his back.
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"Wha-? He's facing upwards now?!" A scout exclaimed.
The group of soldiers landed on the buildings to the Titan's left and right.
"We can't finish him off!"
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'This is a very strange feeling...' Bertolt thought while flying. 'I don't feel that scared at all. I can see everything clearly. I feel like, no matter how this all plays out, I can accept whatever happens. That's right, nobody's in the wrong. There's nothing we could do.' He launched himself to the sky. 'Because this world... is just...' He shifted his body to see the buildings far below him get smaller. '...that cruel.'
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"He's going up!" Hange exclaimed, seeing Bertolt above her. "Don't tell me...
"But I thought Reiner was right over there!" Moblit said from behind her.
Hange panicked. "Quick, get out of here!"
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Blue lightning crackled around Bertolt's body. A large blue ball formed high above them.
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"Hange-san!" Moblit yelled, moving closer to her.
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Levi, Erwin, Armin, Faye and Mikasa stared at the massively expanding ball in shock.
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Growing tremendously, the force of the sphere shook the ground and sent a shockwave that ripped apart a row of stone houses.
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The attacking Titan was on one knee, trying to shield himself against the pressure.
Sasha and Connie held on to him to avoid being blow off as Jean braced himself, midair, as the hooks of his gear kept him anchored to the attacking Titan's neck.
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Behind a house, Armin clutched the ground and Mikasa braced against the brick wall.
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A number of soldiers were burned and turned to ash and more houses were destroyed.
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Erwin was on one knee, protecting his face from the explosion.
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A mushroom cloud appeared behind him.
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Erwin scowled as the light from the explosion died down.
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"You guys alive?!" Jean asked from the attacking Titan's shoulder.
"I don't know!" Connie replied, on the Attacking Titan's arm. "Are you?!"
"I-I'm hanging in there..." Sasha answered weakly, holding the The Attacking Titan's crystalized thumb.
Armin and Mikasa joined them, landing on the building in front of the Attacking Titan.
"Mikasa! Armin! You okay?!" Jean asked the two.
"We're fine." Mikasa replied.
"Hange Squad?" Jean asked.
"They were so close to Bertolt..." Armin told them quietly.
Slowly, Armin, Mikasa, Jean, and the Attacking Titan shifted their eyes up.
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In the distance, the Colossal Titan crouched, his red-muscled body let out thick steam.
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"You don't think..." Jean began as they all watched him.
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Surrounded by wreckage, inside the Armored Titan, Reiner lay.
Red muscles around him thumped like a heartbeat.
Part of his head had regrown. His jaw, eyes, and brain were popping out, looking quite horrific.
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"...the only ones who survived... are us here?" Jean finished as the Colossal Titan stood up.
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The Colossal Titan shifted his body and moved one of his hands through the houses, bringing the hand up.
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"H-Hey..." Connie said, watching the fiery rubble fall and wreck more houses.
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The Colossal Titan swept out his arm, wreaking more havoc and destruction on the city.
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"Armin!" Jean said, catching his attention. "What now?! Wait for burning houses to flatten us?!"
"Armin." Mikasa said and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're in command. We follow your orders."
"We retreat... Rally at the commander for new orders." Armin told them, eyes wide and almost glazed over. "We'll engage the Colossal Titan in a battle of attrition as originally planned."
"Hold up, Armin..." Jean said.
"Huh?" Armin said.
"It'll be a disaster if we let Bertolt near the wall and the others." Jean said. "If the houses in the inner gate catch fire, they'll be sandwiched between the fire and the Beast Titan."
"Th-That means..." Armin said while the Colossal continued his destruction. "...we have no choice but to defeat Bertolt right here? And we have to do it... with the people we have here?"
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Eren glared.
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Connie and Sasha gaping in shock at the Colossal Titan's rampage.
Some of the wreckage fell close to them.
"A-Armin! The fire! Your orders?!" Connie asked in a panic.
"Hurry it up!" Sasha yelled, equally worried.
Armin didn't reply, overwhelmed as the Colossal threw more houses.
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Levi lowered his arm from his face.
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Erwin turned his attention from the Colossal Titan and glanced at the Beast Titan. "What will you do? Beast Titan... Is this exactly what you wanted?"
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Outside the city, with a row of Titans around him, the Beast Titan was crouched, bringing up one hand to scratch his ear.
'This is where the fun begins...'
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